Need advice on 1st RV purchase

[Gypsidio]

Looking for some advice...I am looking to buy a 1990 Ford E350 460 Cid, 28 feet. Asking price $5,800 CAD.  Since this would be my first RV I have no idea of this make or model. I have only pics to go by. Will be put be putting $$ out to hold it until I get a hands on look and inspection. RV is located near my home in Newfoundland. I am curious about size of gas tank, how it drives, any tidbits from experienced RVers would be appreciated. TIA

 

[john*thomas]

IMO it's a fairly safe pick. It's a Ford so parts will be fairly easy to come by. I don't know what the tank size is but like most all of these its' going to get really lousy miles per gallon or miles per liter.

When you are looking at 30 year old motorhomes it's likely as good as any. Nothing of big concern IMO.

 

[bullfrog]

You need to post the pictures as you really don't have enough information to give or form an opinion. You have a lot more research to do before putting out any money!

 

[WanderingRose]

And I would definitely take a good look at it and get my feet in it to take it for a drive.

 

[mkl654321]

A 30-year-old RV is nothing more than a collection of several thousand parts that at the moment, just happen to be occupying adjacent places in space and time. Due to entropy and the fact that RVs are (with a few exceptions) built to less exacting standards than your kid's Lego spaceship, these various parts will separate from one another, as part of the natural order of things. Furthermore, since the design life of the average RV system/system component is 2 minutes 30 seconds, anything 30 years old is still functioning only by the grace of the RV gods.

Some folks enjoy this as a challenge. However, I suspect that you might weary of waiting for tow trucks/spending nights at RV dealerships/taking things apart and putting them back together again more often than you brush your teeth/inventing new swear words. You don't want to introduce yourself to RVing with a 30 year old rig any more than you'd want your teenager to learn to drive in a 1962 Chevy.

Also--the particular rig you're looking at seems reasonably priced. In today's utterly insane RV market, that's a red flag that there's something seriously wrong with it, like a three foot wide hole in the floor (you can see the ground) where the toilet used to be or a roof that looks like it's made of wet Kleenex.

 

[crofter]

The old toyota motorhomes seem to run forever and are well spoken of by their owners even when broken. As mkl65 expressed, a mechanical inspection and having the owner demonstrate what works/ what is broken is important in wisely spending your money. Some old RVs are gems while others are money pits. Even my newish van cost more to build out over time than I initially planned.
-crofter

 

[mkl654321]

Re the Toyota motorhomes: 1) You need to be VERY familiar with the rear axle issues on the earlier models and be able to spot when it hasn't been modified 2) You need to know which engines to avoid--the 1989 and later V6s blow engine gaskets at 50,000 miles 3) You need to familiarize yourself with the various interior builds used (quite a few RV manufacturers used the Toyota truck chassis, over a period of 13 years) 4) You need to be aware of potential suspension issues--that leetle truck works HARD. And then--the Toyota motorhomes have a cult following and are thus insanely overpriced. The only real option is to find a decrepit one and fix it up.

 

[Sparky242]

If you have little or no mechanical ability it might be to hard and frustrating to keep it going. The only way to tell is driving it and looking over all the RV components. Hopefully the seller will be honest and forthcoming with any issues it might have. Good Luck